ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose women’s basketball team will play its lone tune-up prior to commencing its 2009-10 campaign Thursday night when the Golden Knights travel to the University of Connecticut for a 7:30 pm exhibition game at Gampel Pavilion. It marks the sixth straight year Saint Rose precedes its regular-season slate by playing a Division I institution. Its past opponents include Binghamton University and Manhattan College.
Head coach
Karen Haag, who was named the WBCA Most Inspirational Division II Coach in January, returns to the sidelines for her ninth year at the helm. She recorded her 100th victory on Western Avenue midway through the 2008-09 campaign and her teams have averaged 17.4 wins throughout the last five years.
The Golden Knights return 10 letterwinners from last year’s 20-11 club that advanced to the semifinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament and garnered its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance throughout the College’s 18-year NCAA II era. Two of the team’s top-five scorers in senior guard
Elizabeth Buckley and sophomore forward
Amy Voelkel are back along with junior point guard
Lynsey Timbrouck.
Buckley averaged 10.5 points in 30 games last season. She was fifth in the NE-10 with 2.00 3-point field goals per-game and her 130 career “three’s” are fifth all-time in school annals. Voelkel made seven starts while seeing action in all 31 games. She contributed 5.7 points and 5.9 rebounds on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Timbrouck averaged 5.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists throughout a team-high 32.4 minutes. She finished the year among the league’s top-six in steals (2.10 spg), assists and A:TO ratio (1.43).
The Huskies, who won 2008-09 NCAA National Championship on the strength of a perfect 39-0 record, open the year as the nation's top-ranked team for the seventh time in program history according to the 2009-10 Associated Press Preseason Poll. All five starters and 10 letterwinners return from last year’s squad that posted the third perfect season in program history and won its 16th BIG EAST title.
Junior forward Maya Moore and senior center Tina Charles have been named to the AP Preseason All-American Team. Moore, who was also the consensus National Player of the Year as a sophomore, poured in a single-season school record 754 points a season ago and now owns two of the top-three single-season scoring marks in school annals. Charles averaged 16.5 points and 8.9 rebounds last year. She furthermore is just five rebounds shy of 1,000 for her career and is within striking distance of surpassing Rebecca Lobo (1,268) as the all-time leading rebounder in UConn history.
Saint Rose will open its 2009-10 schedule on Sunday, November 15 with a non-league game versus Bloomfield College. Tip-off is set for 4:00 pm at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. Meanwhile, the Huskies conclude their exhibition slate Monday night when they host Vanguard University at 7:00 pm. They then embark on their national title defense on November 14 versus Northeastern at 2:00 pm.